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Reviews
The Kitchen (2023)
Would've been better as a miniseries?
The understated tone of the film takes a while to get used to, but I quite liked it by the end. It makes a change from a lot of the more in-your-face productions we're used to nowadays.
I entered expecting a dramatic dystopian drama, but it turned out to be quite an emotionally touching story about a father coming to terms with meeting his son.
That's not to say I appreciated the film's pacing, however! It is far too slow; many scenes drag out in silence for longer than they need to. I understand that this can add emotion/depth/tension, but in many cases a scene could've been cut shorter and still achieved that emotional effect (and arguably better).
However, cutting out the long pauses would've reduced the film to about an hour - far too short for a movie ;-) That's why I think it would have worked better as a miniseries. As a miniseries, we could have also had episodes that delve more into the dystopian themes.
I liked the cinematography, soundtrack, and acting, and wouldn't mind seeing more by these 2 directors as long as they were to shorten the dragged-out silences; they're very alienating. Shorten the film and make a series next time!
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023)
Did Chat GPT write this movie?
The film was amusing enough (lots of slapstick humour) and I enjoyed the fun details in the animations, e.g. A hot air balloon disguised as a cloud, and the factory "eye register" including a night-shift worker with very bloodshot eyes..
That being said, the storyline felt unoriginal and became flat halfway through; it was too obvious what was going to happen. Chat GPT could have written it - and given many industries' overreliance on AI, it wouldn't surprise me if that were the case.
I also have to agree with some other reviewers that the personality of main characters was watered down, especially Rocky. The original Rocky's bragging bravado was a big driving force and source of parody in the first film. The sequel's endless slapstick humour and flat characters didn't do enough for me.
Wolf (2021)
Dark Absurdist Humour & Important Warnings Against Repeating History
I actually really enjoyed this, although maybe not always for the intended reasons. I spent half the film distracted by the collars/leashes and the other half wondering how you'd depict identifying as a flea ;-)
Quips aside, I appreciated Wolf. Apart from the Nietzsche "abyss" quote, I didn't find it pretentious at all. The film was easy to follow, brought up important themes, and was very funny in several places. The humour is absurdist and I'm sensing that's what's coming off as pretentious to some people. It's each to their own with humour, of course.
In terms of the themes, I give the film credit too - the ideas aren't as far-fetched as some might say. The extreme behaviour of the clinic leader, for instance, is very akin to what we were doing to our "mental patients" or "sexual deviants" some decades ago. Films like this help us to remember that era in history and warn against repeating it in the future.
As long as you don't get too wrapped up in wanting "realism" (it's more of an absurdist warning for the future), Wolf is an entertaining and thought-provoking 90 minute watch. I would genuinely enjoy a sequel to see how human-animals fare in the wild, and I take my collar off to Biancheri for daring to make something so out-of-the-ordinary.
After Life (2019)
Gervais' Failed Vanity Project
It's Season 3 of After Life, and life's going on as usual in Tambury town. Tony is fat-shaming his best friend, neglecting his love interest, obsessing about himself, and getting in a huff about hipsters and anal sex (the latter suspiciously often).
As ever, Tony goes a bit far with the banter in Season 3. Yet we're still expected to like him; this time because he gives money to an old lady and talks humanely to a child with cancer (what a feat!). "Tony's a good person really", they say. I'm not so sure.
I'm not so sure that a good person exhausts friends with repetitive monologues about their wife and self-pity. I'm not so sure that a good person makes fun of their friends without being able to take jokes in return. I'm not so sure that a good person cruelly disrespects the woman they like.
Tony's egoism already spoiled Seasons 1 and 2, and in Season 3 it takes on a new dimension: it verges on narcissism. In addition to bringing others down, Tony manages to magnify himself somehow in scene after scene.
Be it trouncing Matt at sport, telling Kath what's best for her over coffee, or name-dropping philosopher Kierkegaard at the graveyard (so clever!), Tony is continuously revealed to be better, cleverer, fitter, funnier than everyone else. This begs the question: is this just Tony being magnified here, or also Ricky Gervais himself?
Interestingly, Ricky Gervais says that After Life is the best thing he's ever done. He thinks it's his chef d'oeuvre. Yet for all the crying and "grown-up" philosophising, Tony is nothing more than an egoistic alcoholic who thrives on putting other people down. Expecting us to condone this because Tony is funny is insulting.